Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 72.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,969 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,542 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,285,340. The company has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.29 and a 12-month high of $155.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.65.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,596,262.40. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,152 shares of company stock valued at $3,940,377 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.